“Cabling” a building under construction refers to a process whereby a worker installs electrical wiring or other cables (collectively “wire”). Wire that is used in this process is typically sold in a spool or coil (collectively “spool”) and must be pulled out from the spool and placed throughout various walls, floors, and ceilings so that it can connect a central electrical box to various outlets and switches. If the spool is not retained in one location where the wire can be pulled outward from the spool, the spool will roll about the floor and strike various walls and other objects which will cause the wire to become tangled. This creates a safety hazard and slows the cabling process down considerably.
Several different types of devices known as “wire reels” have been developed which keep the spool in one location while enabling wire to be pulled from it and placed throughout a building. These wire reels are either placed directly on the floor or hung from the building's rafters and come in a multitude of designs. Some wire reels include a large, flat circular base that supports the spool while others include a central base with several extended arms that support the spool. Because all known wire reels use either a flat, circular base or three or more arms to support the spool, it is more difficult to pull the wire from the spool than it would be if the wire reels used only two arms.
Additionally, all known wire reels are bulky and difficult to store and transport from one location to another. Very few known wire reels are collapsible for storage and transport, and the ones that are contain several moving parts which increase the chance of these devices being broken.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wire reel that is collapsible and easy to transport. Another object of the present invention is to provide a wire reel with two arms that can easily support and dispense wire from a spool. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wire reel that is constructed of relatively few moving parts and is easily adjusted from an extended position to distribute wire and a collapsed position for storage and transport.